Quentin Tarantino Reveals Why He Isn’t Directing OUATIH Sequel

Quentin Tarantino has detailed why he isn’t directing The Adventures of Cliff Booth, the sequel to his 2019 movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which reimagines the events leading up to the murder of Sharon Tate, starred Leonardo DiCaprio as television star Rick Dalton and Brad Pitt as his stunt double Cliff Booth.

The upcoming Adventures of Cliff Booth, which is being directed by David Fincher, takes place eight years later and continues Booth’s story. Brad Pitt will return to reprise his role opposite an ensemble cast that includes Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Elizabeth Debicki, Carla Gugino, Scott Caan, Corey Fogelmanis, and Timothy Olyphant.

On the latest episode of the podcast The Church of Tarantino, Quentin Tarantino himself stopped by for an interview. During the conversation, the topic turned to The Adventures of Cliff Booth and how he will not be directing it himself. Tarantino admitted that “it just kind of unenthused me as we went forward until I finally just pulled the plug.”

He shared that while he “love[s] the script,” he doesn’t like “walking down the same ground that I’ve already walked.“ He reveals that he didn’t feel creatively invigorated by the prospect of directing the movie, because “there’s no ceiling for me to hit the head of my talent on.”

The director has long stated that his tenth movie, which will be whatever he helms next, will be his last. However, he wants his grand finale as a director to take him into “uncharted territory.” However, he is still involved in the project as a producer, and he says that “I’ll be around if they need me to do something.”

Read Tarantino’s full comments on the project below:

It was like, well, yeah, I love this script, but I’m still walking down the same ground that I’ve already walked. And there are no questions. I mean, there are a few things, as far as like certain sequences and everything. But as far as like, you know, how is this ship going to sail, which is always a question in my mind. There was no question that the ship would arrive at port. There’s no question that we won’t sink. There’s no ceiling for me to hit the head of my talent on.

And it just kind of unenthused me as we went forward until I finally just pulled the plug. This last movie, I’ve got to not know what I’m doing again. I’ve got to be in uncharted territory and have an idea how I’m going to pull it off, but not really know. And there has to be something to achieve.

I’m moving back and forth between here and Israel, so I won’t be on the set every day and everything. But, yeah, I’ll be around if they need me to do something, you know, I will.

What This Means For The Adventures of Cliff Booth

Ultimately, it makes sense that Tarantino would want to find new creative ground for his final film, even if he eventually ends up un-retiring and making an eleventh movie. This is because Quentin Tarantino movies are almost exclusively standalone films, ranging from his debut feature, 1992’s Reservoir Dogs, to his most recent outing, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Additionally, while Tarantino did direct both Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Volume 2, those movies were produced simultaneously and are treated as one movie in his filmography when counting toward his tenth and final film. Therefore, the director’s comments about seeking new creative challenges with each new project are born out by his history.

Even though The Adventures of Cliff Booth will not be Quentin Tarantino’s next movie, the fact that he will not be directing the first proper feature-length sequel to one of his movies is not necessarily a demerit.

Tarantino has had other filmmakers successfully direct his scripts before, perhaps most notably when his frequent collaborator Robert Rodriguez helmed 1996’s From Dusk till Dawn, in which Tarantino also starred, opposite George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, and Salma Hayek.

Additionally, David Fincher has proven himself as a director who would be a good creative fit for The Adventures of Cliff Booth. His Oscar-winning 2020 movie Mank proved that he has just as much of an interest in classic Hollywood as Tarantino, and he has previously dabbled in Tarantino-esque genres multiple times with movies such as Seven and Gone Girl.